He has already pulled the company out of convenience stores. On Wednesday it announced it had sold 140 M Local stores to Mike Greene for £25m. Greene has spent 20 years on the board of the Association of Convenience Stores and Greybull Capital, a controversial private investment group.

“Morrisons will be an organisation that listens,” Potts said. “During the first half, the new executive and leadership teams have been listening hard to colleagues, customers, suppliers and shareholders. They tell us there is a lot for us to do.

“It will be a long journey. We approach the challenge with energy, confidence and many strengths, particularly our strong balance sheet and cash flow, which enables investment in improving the customer shopping trip.”

The proposed closure of the 11 supermarkets will cost Morrisons £20m. The company has also booked a loss of £30m on the sale of its M Local stores and is on the hook for a further £20m in rental payments if the stores fail under their new owners.